For women, gender equality remains a dream due to these bizarre restrictions

IllustrationsUday MohiteOne ends another beginsWith Saudi Arabia taking the first step towards scrapping the law that restricts women from driving the last such remaining policy in the world Turkmenistans President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov seems to have decided to follow in the wrong footsteps officially banned women from driving in the central Asian republic After Turkmenistans interior minister argued that women drivers are responsible for most of the car accidents in the country Berdymukhamedov issued the directive last December at his request The police have started enforcing the law and cancelling licences of women caught drivingGender equality remains a dreamgtgt The Sabarimala temple in Kerala restricts women aged between 10 and 50 years the menstruating age from entering its premises The restriction stems from the legend that the temple deity Swami Ayyappa is a Naishtika Brahmachari and should not be disturbed On October 13 last year the SC referred to a fivejudge Constitution Bench the question whether the fundamental right of women to pray at a religious place can be discriminated against based on a biological factor exclusive to the female gendergtgt After years of the restriction on women from travelling alone to perform Haj this month Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared that his government had removed it following which hundreds of women applied to go for the pilgrimage alone As long as they go in a group of at least four people Muslim women aged above 45 will now be able to go for Haj without a mahramgtgt In 2015 the Andhra Pradesh government had issued a notification to pubs clubs and bars to ask women customers to leave after 10 pm The outlets had also stopped giving free drinks to themA nottodo list just for womenWomen cant wear false teeth in Vermont unless their husbands give in writing allowing them to do so Women are not allowed to straddle bikers in Indonesia They can sit with their legs on one side Implemented as part of the strict sharia law the ban was enforced so that women do not get into undesirable situationsIn La Paz Bolivia married women are not allowed to have wine Though she can have a couple of sips in the presence of her husband if he thinks that she had too much he can divorce her on the ground that it was sexually lax behaviour In Tucson Arizona women are not allowed to wear pants They can wear breeches only if they are riding a horse or a twowheelerWomen arent allowed to watch male sports in Iran mainly football The belief is that looking at men in shorts in a chargedup game could lead to desire and lust developing in their minds Women in Saudi Arabia cannot have their own bank accounts to control their finances without permissionBehind the wheelFor years Saudi Arabia has had a blanket ban on women driving with those caught behind the wheel being detained The strict rule has been there despite there being any actual Islamic or Saudi law prohibiting the same It was enforced with backing from powerful ultraconservative clerics who believed that such acts would lead to sinThe first step towards changing the policy was taken in recent years with the rise of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman He had ordered the reform in a royal decree delivered on September 26 saying that women would be able to obtain a driving licence without having to take the permission of any male guardian A special government body has been set up to give advice in the matter The law would be changed by June 2018Trupti Desai equal rights activist and founder of Bhumata BrigadeThe concept of gender equality is still on paper My organisation Bhumata Brigade fought for womens right to have equal access to religious places but it doesnt help if only nonprofit organisations fight for such a cause Its also the responsibility of governments to ensure that equality becomes a realityLow spiritsThe ban on women from buying liquor in Sri Lanka was imposed in 1979 to appease the conservative Buddhist hierarchy then as per the countrys finance ministry As part of the ban neither can they buy alcohol nor work in places that produce and sell it But change was the horizon and then it wasnt For the first time in decades they wouldve been able to buy liquor but days after the finance minister removed the restriction President Maithripala Sirisena stepped in and reimposed the banSusie Shah exchairperson Maharashtra State Womens CommissionWomen are still being controlled in various ways Attitude and mindsets need to change We need more teeth in laws to work for women I cant say that we are moving towards equality but we might just be inching towards it It is often said that women misuse laws but others misuse them tooJune 2018When the ban restricting women from driving in Saudi Arabia will be lifted1991Kerala High Court restricts entry of women aged between 10 and 50 years to the Sabarimala temple39Total number of years the ban on Sri Lankan women from buying alcohol has been in placeCatch up on all the 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